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NBA Draft Spotlight: Talen Horton-Tucker

Few people outside of Ames or Chicago expected Talen Horton-Tucker to be an immediate impact player, let alone a first-round hopeful. He has hired an agent and is exploring the draft as of earlier in the week.

Position: SF

From: Iowa State

Class/YOB: Freshman

Height: 6’4

Weight: 230

Wingspan: 7’0

Strengths:

Tremendous length for his height. Uses 7-foot wingspan to his advantage in nearly every area of his game

Switch potential as a defender. Capable of guarding every spot at the college level. Has very good hands, regularly leading to strips and deflections. Moves with purpose as a help defender. Defensive versatility is his best trait

Decent playmaking feel. Worked well in pick-and-rolls. Capable of initiating against pressure when necessary. Good open court weapon due to his ability to take defensive rebounds and starting the break

Slashes to the rim and uses his length to push shots over defenses. Won’t ever be asked to be a go-to option in the NBA, but he can do enough with the ball to get to the basket. Makes a lot of shots from unorthodox angles

Very projectable frame. Wide shoulders and plus strength for a wing. If he leans down, he should become quicker and develop into an elite defender who can score and make plays on the move

Weaknesses:

Will need to show at the combine and during workouts that he can shoot the three. He took about five a game, but was wildly inconsistent. There is potential there, so it may just be a matter of youth. Poor fool shooting and a slow release are bad signs, but he’s also got decent form, so it is a wait-and-see skill today

Not an isolation scorer at this point. While he can do a little bit off the dribble, he ran into problems when players starting to take away his straight-line drives. Developing that pull-up game from 15-19 feet should open things up for his drives

Redefined his body in the last year, though he still has to become more cut to maximize his game as a do-it-all wing

He is still very young and makes some mistakes that show it. Wants to be more of a playmaker than he is ready to be at this stage